Summary
Popular digitalLorcanaclient Pixelborn will be shutting down next month, following an alleged claim of infringed property rights by Disney.
Pixelborn is a fan-made client that allows you to play Lorcana with a digital interface like the likes of Magic: The Gathering Arena and Pokemon TCG Live. However, as it is a fan-run service, all cards are free to use, and, technically, have to be modded into the game manually before they’re playable.
Despite this, in a message on the Pixelborn Discord server andreposted on Twitter, developer Pavel Kolev announced that he will be shutting down Pixelborn on June 16. According to Kolev, “Disney representatives” reasserted its rights over the Lorcana property.
Kolev has always been upfront about his decision to shut down the game should Disney finally bring down the sword. Last year inan interview with TheGamer, he said that “If Ravensburger has a problem with Pixelborn, they don’t need to send lawyers or anything, they just need to ask me and I’ll shut it down immediately.”
In the announcement, he also says that he would “not grasp at technicalities”, referring to the fact that, without an external source of Lorcana cards to install into the game, Pixelborn is just a generic interface and not really a ‘game’ in its own right.
Even if it wasn’t impossible to see this coming from a mile off, the decision to shutter Pixelborn isn’t a painless one for Kolev. In the announcement, he says his “heart is shattered to pieces”, having “put everything into this project for the past year and a half”.
A Massive Loss For The Lorcana Community
Though there are still other ways to play Lorcana digitally, ranging from webcam play toTabletop Simulator, this is a massive loss for the Lorcana community. Pixelborn was the closest thing to a feature-complete client, and was used for numerous tournaments.
It also provided the community with invaluable statistical information onwhat decks are being played, especially in the early days of the game when in-person play was still picking up momentum. In fact, the level of data Pixelborn collected on the game was a concern to Kolev, who said he “didn’t want to be an influencer of the life of the game in any way”, choosing to be careful of precisely what information was gleaned from Pixelborn games.
This popularity has led to a successful Patreon campaign which, after funding development costs and server maintenance, has also raised money for various charities, such as $5000 for Doctors Without Borders last October.
Ravensburger and Disney have yet to comment on Pixelborn or its closure. Of course, while this move does float questions as to whether an official client is in the works, nothing has been announced at this time.
Disney Lorcana
Lorcana is a trading card game developed by Disney and published by Ravensburger, featuring iconic characters, settings, and more from the studio’s long history. As an Illumineer, you must build your deck and help protect Lorcana.
